First Darian Mensah and now this for the Duke Blue Devils.
The Duke Blue Devils were prepared to defend their ACC title with Darian Mensah under center next season, but now, that won't be possible.
Mensah entered the transfer portal at the very last minute, leaving Duke in a lurch with very little time to find an answer at quarterback.
To make matters worse, the Blue Devils' top potential option to replace Mensah is now off the market.
Former five-star quarterback DJ Lagway — who became a Duke target following Mensah's sudden departure — has decided to sign with Baylor, another tough blow to the Blue Devils.
Lagway spent his first couple of seasons at Florida and was actually very disappointing, but there is a belief that he still has untapped potential. Baylor is certainly a strange choice, but nevertheless, Lagway has joined the Bears.
Now, Duke must scramble to find its next answer at signal-caller, as it not only lost Mensah to the transfer portal, but Henry Belvin, as well.
The Blue Devils went 9-5 and captured the ACC championship this past season. It marked their first outright conference title since 1962. Then, they defeated Arizona State in the Sun Bowl.
DJ Lagway. Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images.Of course, Mensah's brilliance played a major role in Duke's impressive campaign.
The 20-year-old threw for 3,973 yards and 34 touchdowns, establishing himself as one of the better quarterbacks in the country.
There was even speculation that Mensah could enter the NFL Draft, but he decided to return to school for another year.
At that point, everyone assumed that Mensah would continue his journey at Duke, especially considering that he signed two-year, $8 million NIL contract with the Blue Devils last year.
Mensah himself even posted a video on social media saying he was ready to "run it back" at Durham in 2026.
But evidently, Mensah's loyalty to Duke — and his contract — only went so far.
While the Blue Devils cannot force Mensah to stay with the team, they can pursue legal action and make it so he cannot make NIL money elsewhere, which could complicate things for him.
Right now, though, it doesn't appear Duke is going that route.
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